PRESS DIGEST- British Business - Sept 24

Sept 24 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the
business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified
these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

The Telegraph

JPMORGAN EXPECTED TO BE SUED BY JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OVER
MORTGAGE BONDS

The U.S. Justice Department is preparing to sue JPMorgan
Chase & Co over mortgage bonds it sold in the run-up to
the financial crisis, according to reports. A lawsuit, first
reported by Reuters, could come as early as Tuesday, people
familiar with the matter said. ()

BANK OF ENGLAND TARGETED GROWTH FOR RATE DECISIONS: BEN
BROADBENT

Ben Broadbent, a Bank of England policymaker, has admitted
the widely-held belief that interest rates have been set in
response to changes in growth rather than the official inflation
mandate. He made the revelation as part of an attempt to explain
the bank's new 7 percent unemployment target, which he claimed
was now more relevant than growth due to productivity
bottlenecks in the economy. ()

The Guardian

BP SEEKS TO HAVE GULF COAST OIL SPILL SETTLEMENT PAYMENTS
SUSPENDED

BP Plc on Monday renewed its request for a federal
judge to temporarily suspend settlement payments to Gulf Coast
residents and businesses affected by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon
oil spill, citing a scathing report on alleged misconduct within
the court-supervised program. ()

ED MILIBAND PLEDGES HELP ON BUSINESS RATES FOR HIGH STREET
TRADER

Ed Miliband has won praise from campaigners trying to help
revive Britain's high streets as it emerged that the Labour
leader would help small businesses by freezing their business
rates. ()

The Times

BLACKBERRY IN $4.7 BLN TAKEOVER DEAL WITH INVESTOR

Smartphone maker BlackBerry Ltd was thrown a
lifeline on Monday after its biggest shareholder offered $4.7
billion to take the Canadian company private. ()

GERMANY LEADS THE EUROZONE'S REBOUND

Germany's resilient economy helped fuel the strongest growth
in euro area business activity for two years in September, with
the services sector driving the upturn. The monthly Markit
purchasing managers' index of activity across the eurozone rose
to 52.1 in September from 51.5, leaving it at its best level
since June 2011 and confirming the region's exit from recession.
()

The Independent

CENTRICA FUELS FEARS THAT THE UK IS RUNNING OUT OF GAS

The Government was accused of playing fast and loose with
Britain's energy security last night after Centrica Plc
finally lost patience with its refusal to offer subsidies to
bolster the country's gas supplies and pulled out of a deal to
build two major new storage projects. ()

AG BARR COUNTS COST OF FAILED MERGER WITH SOFT-DRINKS RIVAL
BRITVIC

A.G.Barr's failed attempt to merge with soft drinks
rival Britvic has cost the Irn Bru maker 4.9 million pounds, it
admitted on Monday. As a result, the company, which also owns
the Rubicon and Rockstar energy drink brands, saw interim
pre-tax profits fall to 13.2 million pounds in the six months to
the end of July, compared with 14.8 million pounds last year.()